Machines for washing laboratory equipment such as flasks,bottles,test tubes and similar articles



Aug. 26, 1969 GOLDMAN 3,463,173

MACHINES FOR WASHING LABORATORY EQUIPMENT SUCH AS FLASKS, BOTTLES, TESTTUBES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Oct. 23, 1965 4 sheets sheet 1 f /0 2/I3, 44

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MACHINES FOR WASHING LABORATORY EQUIPMENT SUCH AS FLASKS, BOTTLES, TESTTUBES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed om. 23. 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.DA W0 6 OLDMA/V ATTORNEX Aug. 26, 1969 D, GOLDMAN 3,463,173

MACHINES FOR WASHING LABORATORY EQUIPMENT SUCH AS FLASKS, BOTTLES. TESTTUBES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Oct. 23, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

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MACHINES FOR WASHING LABORATORY EQUIPMENT SUCH As FLASKS. BOTTLES, TESTTUBES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES Filed Oct. 23, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4.

1NVENTOR. DA V10 6 OLDMA IV ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,463,173 MACHINES FOR WASHING LABORATORY EQUIP-MENT SUCH AS FLASKS, BOTTLES, TEST TUBES AND SIMILAR ARTICLES DavidGoldman, New York, N.Y., assignor to Better Built Machinery Corporation,New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Oct. 23, 1965, Ser. No.503,528 Int. Cl. B081) 3/00, 13/00 US. Cl. 134-145 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A laboratory equipment washer comprising a casing placedin a building wall, with an entrance door of the casing on one side ofthe wall and an opposed exit door on the other side of the wall. Ahorizontal rail support is disposed in the casing, leading from theentrance door to the exit door so that a header adopted to receivewater, may be placed onto the support and into the casing through theentrance door and moved out through the exit door. In the casing thereis a water supply which is disengageably engagable with the header tosupply water thereto, and includes a pipe which has constant connectionto the water supply but is movable into the path of movement of theheader for engagement therewith and which must be moved out of the pathof the header to permit passage of the header through the casing and outof the exit door.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to machinesfor washing laboratory equipment such as flasks, bottles, test tubes;and similar articles.

The invention is directed to improvements in the type of washing machinedisclosed in United States Patent 2,786,480, issued Mar. 26, 1957 forMachine for Washing Test Tubes, Bottles, Receptacles, Pipettes, and LikeArticles. The patented machine comprises a casing provided with a frontopening closed by a door pivoted adjacent its lower end to the frontwall of the casing and swingable upwardly to close the casing anddownwardly to horizontal position to open the casing, said door beingprovided with rail means, and said casing being provided with railmeans, and a header placeable on the rail means on the door when thedoor is swung down to horizontal open position and said header beingadapted to be pushed into the casing, and the casing being provided withhorizontal rail means forming a continuation of the rail means on thedoor, to support the header as the header is pushed into the casing,said header being provided with a coupling element engageable with afixed coupling element adjacent the back wall of the casing, thearrangement being such that as the header is pushed into the casing, thecoupling elements will interengage to form a sealed coupling so thatwater may be passed through the coupling into the header for washingtest tubes, bottles or other articles placed thereon, the constructionbeing such, furthermore, that the header may be pulled out after thewashing operation, to automatically uncouple or disengage the couplingelements after the water supply has been shut off.

While this type of machine operated well, it had certain disadvantages.Since this machine had only one door, a header and tray carryingunwashed flasks, bottles, test tubes or similar articles (hereinafterreferred to as ware), was likely to be brought into close proximity to aheader and tray loaded with washed and sterilized ware. This situationcould possibly recontaminate the clear ware. Similarly, the area wherethe clean ware was unloaded and/ or stored could be contaminated by theproximity of the unwashed ware.

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Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a machine of thecharacter described, which is adapted to be installed in a wall betweena sterile ware room and an unsterile ware room, whereby washed andsterilized ware may be unloaded, moved and stored without being broughtinto proximity with unsterilized ware, to thereby avoidre-contarnination of the clean ware before it is used.

Another object of this invention to provide a machine of the characterdescribed provided with a door in each of two opposite walls thereof,each of the doors being provided with rail means, each of the door railmeans being cooperable with rail means in the washing machine casingwhen the door is swung to a horizontal open position, whereby a headerloaded with unwashed ware may be moved into the casing through one door,and removed after the washing process through the opposite door tothereby avoid contact with unwashed ware.

Still another object of this invention to provide a machine of thecharacter described provided with a connecting pipe, movably mountedwithin the casing, means to connect said connecting pipe to a header,and means to also connect said connecting pipe to the inlet of water andthe various other fluids used in the washing process and yet permitconnecting and disconnecting said connecting pipe from the header, andmovement of the header into and out of the machine without interferencefrom said connecting pipe.

Other objects of this invention will in part be obvious and in parthereinafter pointed out.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements and arrangement of parts which will beexemplified in the construction hereinafter described, and of which thescope of invention will be indicated in the following claims.

SUMMARY OF THE VARIOUS VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanyingdrawings in which is shown an illustrative embodiment of this invention,

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a machine embodying the inventionlooking into one door opening into the casing with a carriage in washingposition;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view thereof with both doors open and withportions broken away for clarity;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a carriage tray used in the present invention,with portions broken away;

FIG. 4, 5 and 6 are sequential views showing the manner ofdis-connecting the connecting pipe from the header;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the connecting pipe with the header removed;

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are cross-sectional views taken on lines 88, 9-9 and1010 of FIG. 7, respectively;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 12 is a partial plan view of a portion of a carriage; and

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken on line 1313 of FIG. 12.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now in detail to thedrawing, 10 designates a washing machine embodying the invention.Machine 10 comprises a casing comprising a top wall 11, a front wall 12,a rear wall 13, a pair of side walls 14, 14 and a bottom wall 15. Legs16 may be provided at the bottom wall.

If desired, machine 10' may be positioned in a suitable opening formedin a wall W so that front wall 12 is in one room D, and rear wall 13 isin an adjoining room C. A will appear more clearly hereinafter, room Dmay be used to load the carriages with dirty and unsterilized Ware, androom C may be used to remove the clean and sterilized ware therefrom andto store the ware. Of course, wall W could also be a partition insteadof wall between two rooms, or the machine could be used in one room, theseparation between Washed and unwashed ware being obtained nevertheless,since the ware is handled in different areas before and after washing.

Machine includes a fluid and waste collector 17 mounted therein belowthe washing area, which is part of the usual washing apparatus, theremainder of which is not shown.

Front wall 12 is formed with an opening in which is mounted a front door18, hinged to wall 12 as at 19. The inside surface of door 18 isprovided with a pair of spaced rails 20, 20. If desired, the doors maybe provided with a window portion 21 between the rails, as is well-knownin the art.

Rear wall 13 is formed with an opening in which is inserted a rear door22, hinged to wall 13 as at 23. The inside surface of door 22 isprovided with a pair of spaced rails 24, 24 which are aligned with rails20. Details of the door arrangement are disclosed in said Hofer patent.

Support means 25 may be provided for each door to help support theweight of the header, trays and ware, and to insure that the door makesan angle with the machine which tends to roll the header into thecasing, as shown, rather than off the end of the door.

Mounted on side walls 14, 14 by any suitable means, are two pairs ofU-shaped brackets 26. The ends of two supporting bars 27 rest inU-shaped brackets 26. Each bar 27 has a downwardly extending bracket 28fixed thereto by any suitable means. The function of brackets 28 will beexplained hereinafter. Mounted on cross bars 27, by any suitable means,are a pair of rails 29. Rails 29 are aligned with door rails 20 and 24,and in end-to-end abutting relation with said door rails, when the doorsare open, to form a continuous track for the ware carriages. Rails 29could be supported within the machine by means other than supportingbars 27, such as by supporting members extending from the walls andfloor of the casing. In such case, brackets 28 could also be supportedfrom means extending from the floor of the casing or any other fixedpart of the machine.

Means are provided to carry ware into and out of the washing machine. Tothis end carriages, generally designated by numeral 30, are provided.Each carriage comprises a header or manifold 30a, with a tray 50 mountedthereon if desired. Reference may be had to the aforementioned Hoferpatent 2,786,480 which describes headers very much like those used inthe present invention.

Each header comprises a central pipe 31, one end of which is sealed byany suitably means as at 32, and the other end of which is provided witha female coupling 33, joined to pipe 31 as by threads 31a, see FIG. 8.Extending perpendicularly outwardly to opposite sides of central pipe 31are a plurality of smaller branch pipes 34. Pipes 34 and 31 are in onehorizontal plane. Communicating with and extending upwardly from pipes34 are a plurality of still smaller pipes or tubes 35 having tips 36which may be of the type disclosed in said Hofer patent. Thus, whenwashing fluids are supplied to pipe 31, these fluids pass through pipes31, 34, 35 and out the tips 36 to wash the ware.

The header thus far described, is mounted by any suitable means on anundercarriage structure comprising a pair of axles 40 on the outer endsof which are flanged wheels 41, which cooperate with the rails 20, 24and 29 in a well known manner. Handles 42 are also provided tofacilitate moving header 30a. Headers 30a may be used as thus fardescribed as in the aforesaid Hofer patent. However, if desired, a tray(FIGS. 11 to 13) 50 may be mounted on pipes 31, 34 and 35 so that theresulting carriage may accommodate different types and configurations ofware, and to make racking and washing the ware more efiicient. Tray 50comprises a base framework of intersecting bars 51, spaced so that theirjunctures correspond to the spacing of upright tubes 35. Said juncturesare provided with ring members 52 having downwardly extending portions53, the lower ends of which rest on pipes 34 and thereby raise the bars51 to the level of the top of pipe 31 so that tray 50 will lie flat onthe headers 30a. Ring members 52 fit loosely over pipes 35 so that thetray 50 can be readily removed from the header if it should be desiredto use the header without the tray.

The header 30a shown in FIG. 3 has sixteen upright tubes arrangedroughly in a square, four on each side. Bars 51 have extensions 51aextending outwardly beyond the imaginary square defined by the sixteenupright tubes 35.

Extending upwardly from the outer end of each extension 51a, is awire-like member 54 which comprises a first upwardly extending portion54a, a second upwardly and outwardly inclined portion 54b, and a thirdupwardly extending portion 540. Each member 54 is in the vertical planeof extension 51a. Between each juncture of the bars 51 is a member 55.Each member 55 comprises a pair of upwardly extending portions 55a, apair of inclined portions 55b which meet at a juncture 55c, and anupwardly extending portion 55d extending from juncture 550. The top oftray 50 is defined by ten bars 56 arranged in two groups of five, thegroups crossing each other at right angles. The bars 56 are joined tothe top ends of the portions 54c and 55d.

Thus, members 54 and 55 and bars 56 define sixteen compartment-likespaces each surrounding an upright pipe 35. Tray 50, as shown, insuitable for washing relatively large flasks or the like. Of courseother carriages having different manifolds and corresponding trays maybe used.

Machine 10 is provided with an inlet pipe 60 which is connected to thepumps of the machine to supply the washing fluids to the manifold of thecarriage. Means is provided to connect the outlet end of pipe 60 to theinlet 33 of the manifold of a carriage.

To this end, a connecting pipe 65 is provided. Pipe 65 is shaped like acandy-cane and comprises a long leg portion 65a, a short leg portion65b, and a connecting portion 650. Portion 650 is provided with a rod65d extending outwardly therefrom opposite to legs 65a and 65b forreasons appearing hereinafter. Long leg 65a is slidably and rotatablyreceived in suitable openings 28a formed in brackets 28 for reasonsappearing hereinafter.

The end of portion 65b is internally threaded as a 66. A male plug 67 isthreadably received on said threads 66. Any other suitable means such aswelding, may be used as well. The front end of plug 67 is formed with anopening in which is fitted an O ring or sealing gasket 68. The outsidesurface of O ring 68 extends slightly outwardly beyond the side wall ofthe plug 67. Coupling 33 is formed with an opening 33a of a diameterslightly less than the outside diameter of O ring 68, but slightlygreater than plug 67. Thus, when plug 67 is thrust into opening 33a, theO ring 68 is slightly compresed to thereby form a fluid tight seal butwhich at the same time permits rapid and easy uncoupling by merelypulling plug 67 and coupling 33 apart.

The end of leg portion 65a is provided with a coupling 70 joined theretoby thread means 71 or any other suitable means. The other end ofcoupling 70 is formed wifl1 an opening 70a which is of a substantiallength for a reason appearing hereinafter. The end of pipe 60 is bent sothat its axis coincides with the axis of leg portion 65a. A plug 72similar to plug 67 is mounted by threads 73 or any other suitable means,in the end of pipe 60. Plug 72 is formed with an opening in which ismounted an O ring 74 similar to O ring 68. The outside diameter of pipe60 is equal to or less than the diameter of plug 72. Plug 72 andcoupling 70 cooperate in the same manner as do plug 67 and coupling 33,except that the fluid tight seal between 0 ring 74 and opening 70aremains intact even if coupling 70 is pulled away from plug 72 as longas said O ring contacts the wall of the opening. Thus, connecting pipe65 may be moved away from inlet pipe 60 a distance substantially equalto the length of opening 70a without breaking the seal between saidpipes. For convenience, this distance will be called the slide distancehereinafter. Similarly, pipe 65 may be rotated with respect to plug 72and the seal between said pipes remains intact.

OPERATION Referring to FIG. 2, when front door 18 is open as shown, thedistance between the bottom end of the door and portion 65b is less thanthe slide distance. The length of rod 65d is greater than the slidedistance. Thus, pipe 65 is always in sealed communication with pipe 60during normal use. When coupling 33 is not on a header, pipe 65 is freeto rotate about the axis of leg portion 65a mounted in brackets 28, butrod 65d will hit the inside surface of the door, see FIG. 6, to preventleg portion 65b from rotating below the axis of leg portion 65a where itmight be inconvenient for an operation to reach.

In normal use, carriages carrying unwashed ware will be put into themachine from the right and removed to the left, referring to FIG. 2. Asexplained above, the ware may move from a dirty room D to a clean roomC. At the time the carriage is rolled into the casing, rear door 22 isclosed and pipe 65 is in the FIG. 6 position. In the position, short legportion 65b is below the level of manifold 31 and therefore the carriagemay be rolled over said leg portion 6511 without touching said portion.

Then the operator rotates leg portions 65b to the FIG. 5 portion, sothat plug 67 aligns with coupling 33. Then the operator pushes coupling33 and plug 67 into sealing engagement as described above. Door 18 isclosed and the ware is washed.

After washing, the rear door 22 is opened, an operator may grasp therear handle 42 and roll the carriage out of the machine onto rails 24,breaking the seal between coupling 33 and plug 67 in the process. Plug72 will bottom in opening 70a to rest the tendency of pipe 65 to followthis motion. When the carriage is removed, portion 65b will rotate toone side or the other by its own weight, or may be moved back to theFIG. 6 position by hand in preparation for another cycle.

Pipe 65, supporting bars 27 and rails 29 can be removed as a unit fromthe casing, if desired, for cleaning or for any other reason, byunthreading coupling 70 from the end of leg portion 65a while pipe 65 isheld in the FIG. 6 position, since threads 71 are shorter in length thanthe slide distance. Of course any other suitable means may be providedto accomplish dis-assembly as will be clear to those skilled in the art.

It will thus be seen that there is provided an article, apparatus andmethod in which the several objects of this invention are achieved andwhich is well adapted to meet the conditions of practical use.

As possible embodiments might be made of the above' invention and asvarious changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth it is tobe understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in theaccompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim:

1. A washer comprising a casing, an entrance door on said casing,washing fluid supply means fixed within said casing, means within thecasing to support a carriage inserted into the casing through theentrance door above said supply means, said carriage comprising means toreceive washing fluid, spray means on said receiving means, and conduitmeans connecting said fixed supply means to said receiving means, anddisposed in the path of movement of said carriage through said entrancedoor into the casing, and said conduit means having means disconnectablefrom said receiving means, and means to retain connection to said supplymeans when disconnected from said receiving means and said means toretain connection with said supply means including means to permitmovement of said conduit means when disconnected from said receivingmeans, out of the path of movement of said carriage through saidentrance door onto said sup port means within said casing, an exit dooron said casing and said receiving means when disconnected from saidconduit means being movable off said support means and out of the casingthrough said exit door, said entrance and exit doors each being locatedin one of a pair of opposed walls of said casing respectively, saidsupply means being located adjacent said exit door and below saidsupport means, said conduit means comprising a. pipe having a long legportion, means on said support means to rotatably and slidably mountsaid long leg portion below said support means, one end of said long legportion being connected to said supply means by said retaining means,said pipe comprising a short leg portion, one end of said short legportion being connectable to said receiving means by said disconnectablemeans, said disconnectable means being disposed adjacent said entrancedoor, said pipe further comprising a connecting portion connecting theother ends of said long and short leg portions whereby said short legportion and connecting portion of said pipe may be rotated about theaxis of said long leg portion and retaining means when saiddisconnectable means are disconnected from said receiving means, andwhereby said pipe may be moved along said axis to connect and disconnectsaid disconnectable means.

2. A washer comprising a casing having pair of opposed walls, anentrance door on one wall, an exit door on the other wall, said entranceand exit doors being in opposed relation, a horizontal support fixed insaid casing, and extending from the lower end of said entrance door tothe lower end of said exit door, a carriage movable on said support,washing fluid receiving means on said carriage, means to supply washingfluid to said receiving means, and being disposed in the path ofmovement of said carriage to prevent movement of said carriage throughsaid casing, and being movable out of the path of said carriage, whendisengaged from said receiving means, to permit passage of said carriagethrough said casing, said supply means including a pipe having a longleg portion, a short leg portion and a bent back portion, means to mountsaid long leg portion for sliding and rotary movement, one end of saidlong leg portion having a telescope and rotary fit with said supplymeans while retaining its connection thereto, one end of said short legportion being disengageably engageable with said re ceiving means uponmoving said pipe about the axis of said long leg portion to move saidshort leg portion out of the path of movement of said receiving meansthrough said casing.

3. The combination of claim 2, said means to retain connection betweensaid conduit means and supply means including a slidable and rotatablefluid tight connection.

4. The combination of claim 2, and a tray removably mounted on saidreceiving means.

5. The combination of claim 4, said tray having ring portions slidablyreceiving said spray means.

6. The combination of claim 4, and handle means at each end of saidreceiving means with said tray between said handle means.

7. The combination of claim 2, said disconnectable means beingconnectable and disconnectable by relative movement between said conduitmeans and receiving means longitudinally of the direction of movement ofsaid carriage.

8. The combination of claim 7, and said disconnectable means whenconnected being fluid tight.

9. The combination of claim 2, and said disconnectable means comprisingtelescoping coupling means on said conduit means and receiving meanswith an O ring therebetween.

10. The combination of claim 9, and said retaining FOREIGN PATENTS meanscomprising telescoping coupling means on said 527 304 6/1931 Germanyconduit means and supply means with an O ring therebetween ROBERT L.BLEUGE, Primary Examiner 5 References Cited Cl. UNITED STATES PATENTS134152, 165 3,017,892 1/1962 Mlxon 134165 XR 3,413,987 12/1968 Brown134176 XR

